Harriers 4 Sutton Utd 1 FA Cup 1st rd

Date: 09-11-13
Venue: Aggborough
att: 2045
away fans: 178

Harriers storm to a resounding FA Cup victory

Report by Philip Lench

The Harriers claimed their place in the next round of the FA Cup, the first time they have managed to do so in four seasons, after putting paid to, a very good, Sutton Utd's chance of doing so themselves. The game ended with an emphatic 4-1 scoreline after Sutton tired towards the end of the game allowing the Harriers to take complete charge.

Before the game started both sets of fans impeccably respected a minutes silence for the Fallen and also for the former chairman of KHIST, the late Steve Millington.

Just prior to that silence came the news that Chey Dunkley had finally returned to the side after a long term injury. He came in straight away to replace Jamie Grimes who went to the bench alongside a new face in Aaron Brown following his signing for us before the game. The former Aldershot, Orient and Yeovil man has come in as defensive cover.

In bright, but cold, sunshine the game got underway with both sides testing each other out nervously. Either that or they didn't want to get the pretty pink ball dirty with their grubby boots. If I had to name the team that started the better then it would have to be Sutton with Dean McDonald catching the eye with his busy little runs into the box trying to create chances for his side.

That chance came not from the terrier like forward but from a corner. Chey Dunkley did well to stop a cross coming in but conceded a corner doing so. That ball came in and it was Charlie Clough that got above the static Harriers defence on the edge of the area to send a bullet header into the net beyond the grasp of Danny Lewis. Not quite the start we expected or wanted.

Not to worry though because within a few minutes we grabbed the equalising goal to haul ourselves back into the tie. Joe Lolley managed to win the ball and sent in a low cross to the feet of Michael Gash but he could only swipe un-cleanly at the ball and it was blocked from going any further by Sean Dundas. His block then fell for Amari Morgan-Smith to bundle the ball over the line.

Not the prettiest of goals but it counts all the same.

The Harriers now had the upperhand and pressed Sutton back in the search for a second goal. That didn't take long coming and this time Gash was more positive in his play and intelligently played the ball out to my Man of the Match, Callum Gittings, to fire the ball home at a narrow angle.

Harriers continued to press in their search for a third, killer, goal through Lolley and AMS but without any joy getting through the massed ranks of the visiting defence. For Sutton the closest they came to pulling a goal back was when Dale Binns dangerously chased a Josh Gowling back pass down and came close to breaking Danny Lewis' leg as he tried to force the ball home. If he had connected it would surely have meant the ex Stevenage man seeing red.

With just seconds to go until the halftime whistle the Utd keeper Tom Lovelock made a superb push out from AMS and then the Lee Vaughan follow up from the edge of the area that whistled in as Lovelock managed to get a touch on it to push it away again.

HT: 2 - 1

The second half started with Sutton coming out the stronger. As usual with the Harriers we never seem to start a game with any kind of fluidity and for the first ten minutes both sides struggled to get any real rhythm going and the only real action was a handbags session that saw Gash and Simon Downer both get booked.

Eventually we managed to get our act together and following a better passage of play we extended our lead with a fine goal from Joe Lolley. The kind of goal that he creates for himself and then finishes off with a trademark, right footed strike at a right angle to the goal. Just after Michael Gash could have made it four when he somehow managed to get down low and head a Morgan-Smith cross goalwards but amazingly he hit the base of the post with the goal at his mercy.

Surprisingly the Sutton manager Paul Doswell made a somewhat drastic triple substitution following the Lolley goal in an effort to get back into the game. On came Damian Scannell, Mitchell Nelson and James Folkes for Sam Rents, Jamie Stuart and Dean McDonald. Steve Burr bought James Dance on soon after in place of Lee Fowler after he had picked up a knock earlier in the half.

The move by Sutton didn't seem to make any difference as the Harriers began to control the game more and more. On came Anthony Malbon for AMS but soon after Lolley was crudely bought down in full flight by Binns and had to go off to applause from both sets of fans. Binns got away with it again! Joe was replaced soon after by Nathan Blissett and it was Bliss that was to set up Malbon for the fourth and final goal.

Big Bliss picked up the ball deep into his own half the raced almost the length of the right hand side of the pitch. He waited his time for Malbon to stay onside and then played the ball past a covering defender for Malbon to beat his defender and side foot the ball home.

Sutton had rallied for a while before that goal and came close to scoring a consolation goal for themselves but that was the killer and they faded away until the final whistle went on a great victory for the Harriers that puts them into tomorrows draw on ITV 1 at around 4.10pm. There will be many Harriers fans tuned in for that to see who we draw out of the hat.

Whoever we get we want it to be winnable and give us a chance to draw a Premiership team and certain TV coverage.